Market Café at Wegmans will open Thursday

Phase one of the expansion features much more room for dining.

The Allentown Wegmans will unveil its new addition Thursday. (Harry Fisher, THE MORNING…)

March 16, 2013|Retail Watch | Scanning the Storefronts

Some things seem to take forever in the retail world, like the opening of the new Weis Markets in Fogelsville or the Golden Corral at Lehigh Valley Mall in Whitehall Township. Eager shoppers and diners couldn't wait for either of those places to be up and running.

Those of you who have been shopping in a construction zone at the Wegmans in Allentown have waited with similar anticipation.

Now — after months of construction — you'll finally get your first peek of what's inside the grocery chain's new 15,000-square foot addition.

At 8 a.m. Thursday, you'll be able to walk through the new Market Café entrance into a bigger dining experience. The café will have a much larger seating area, with more than 200 seats, all on the main floor. Sixty-six of those seats will be in the new Timber Room, which are certain to fill up quickly. The room has a stone fireplace as its focal point.

This new seating replaces the mezzanine seating area, which will be renovated and eventually available by reservation for meetings and private parties.

The new Market Café also includes a catering department and an expanded area for beer. Selections will grow from 700 offerings to 1,200.

"Our customers and our employees have been very patient for the last several months as we worked both inside and outside the building to transform this store into something really special," said store manager Mike Kier.

If you're at the store at 8 a.m. Thursday, Kier invites you to join Wegmans employees in a celebratory Wegmans' cheer, a company tradition reserved for special occasions.

Other activities planned for the expansion's grand opening day include samplings of foods for entertaining. And from 4-7 p.m., sample some of the new beers that will be available at the Market Café.

"I can't wait to show our customers what we've done, and I want them to know there's more to come," said Kier.

"More" includes a new outdoor dining patio that will open in late April. It will seat 40 and have fireplace and pergola for al fresco dining.

Also opening in late spring will be The Pub, a full-service restaurant and bar that seats 130.

And by October, nearly every department in the store will be upgraded and remodeled, including the restrooms and parking lot. Check-out registers will be added, too.

Fresh off a facelift as well is Sotto Santi Pizzeria Pub and Italian Restaurant at 10 W. 4th St. in the Southside Bethlehem historic district.

Known for its $1 slices of pizza, Sotto Santi has undergone a renovation that transformed its traditional pizza-shop décor into a "classier" setting, said owner Anthony Spagnola. He hopes patrons will feel as if they've stepped into a modern Italian restaurant and bar in Philadelphia or New York City.

The old bar was torn out and replaced with a new, larger one on the opposite side of the restaurant, which frees up space for more tables in the front. This, he said, makes the front end of the restaurant more welcoming.

The new bar has double the seating capacity and a new tap system for serving up its selection of 20 tap beers. The bar also offers an expanded drink selection that includes wine on tap, a martini menu and freshly made Sangria every day.

"When our regular patrons come back, they will feel like they have stepped into a new restaurant," said Spagnola.

He also has added new items to the menu, including Angus beef burgers, boneless wings, nachos and vegan and gluten-free pizzas.

Check out the renovation process on the Italian eatery's Facebook page: Sotto Santi.

And yet one more renovation is complete: The Fine Wine and Good Spirits store at the South Mall in Allentown will reopen at 9 a.m. Monday, said Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board spokeswoman Stacy Kriedeman.

The store closed on Jan. 28 for renovations, and it now has a warmer, more customer-friendly look and a center table where shoppers can ask questions and make their purchases.

The store is the same size, so the selection won't change much. The spruce up is part of an LCB-wide rebranding effort.

"People will notice the moment they walk in the door," Kriedeman said.

He might be busy in his run for Bethlehem City council, but it's not keeping Chris Morales from taking care of business. The owner of Easy Weenies hot dog stands in Bethlehem and Easton has opened a new location at 2477 Birch St. in Wilson Borough — the former location of the drive-through Mocha Mikes across from the Wawa and Home Depot on 25th Street.

This, too, is a drive-through. "We did a lot of work here before we could open and it looks great," said Morales, who opened his first stand three years ago and already is eyeing sites for a couple more locations.